We all know we need to exercise regularly, but getting fit is a lot of hard work, and it’s not always easy to be as motivated as we need to be – often it can be much more tempting to sit and watch TV, go online, read a book, or even take a nap rather than heading to the gym, going for a run, or playing sports. However, if we want to be as fit and healthy as possible, exercise is vital, and we need to keep ourselves motivated. With that in mind, here are some of the ways you can stay motivated on your fitness journey.
Set Clear Goals
One of the most effective ways to stay motivated and keep getting fitter is to set clear, achievable goals – the achievable part is hugely important, as if you set goals that are too hard to achieve, you’re not going to be motivated, and it’s actually going to have the opposite effect.
Having vague goals like getting fitter or losing weight is a good start, but you have to be a lot more detailed if you’re going to be as motivated as you need to be, so you’ll have to define what ‘getting fit’ is and how much weight you want to lose. Then you’ll need to break those larger goals down into smaller steps – each time you achieve one of those steps, you’ll know you’re closer to your ultimate goal, and that’s going to motivate you to do more.
Why Are You Doing It?
Another great way to stay motivated when it comes to your fitness journey is to think about why you’re doing it – some people call this finding your why. Whatever your reason is for wanting to get fit, it can be the ideal motivation to keep going, as long as you keep it in mind when you’re working out or doing exercise.
The great thing is that there are no rules about why you should be getting fitter, so your why can really be anything you want it to be – whether it’s improving your health, boosting your confidence, setting a positive example for your loved ones, or just feeling better in your own skin, working with a why in mind can really make a big difference and help you keep pushing forward even when things are hard and you’d rather be doing something else.
Mix It Up
Something that can often cause an issue when it comes to your motivation is being bored – doing the same kind of exercise over and over might seem like a good idea, but it’s actually not. Firstly, that’s not the right way to exercise because if you’re only doing one form of exercise, only one area of your body will be getting healthy. Secondly, it’s dull and monotonous, so you won’t be motivated to do it every day or every couple of days.
Try different types of workouts, give new sports a go, enroll in different fitness classes, and generally switch things up so you’re in a different place or exercising different parts of your body. When you experiment with different exercises you’ll not only stop yourself from getting bored, but you’ll also be able to keep your mind and body engaged, and that’s going to give you better results.
Find A Support System
If you really want to be motivated, surrounding yourself with like-minded people who share your fitness goals and can celebrate your wins, no matter how small they might be, is a great option, as they’ll be able to give you invaluable support and motivation. It might be that you find yourself a workout buddy, a supportive friend or relative, or even an online community where you can chat about the things you find hard and the ways you’ve overcome your challenges, like using supplements, for example.
The thing to remember on your fitness journey is that having someone to share your successes, struggles, and – crucially – your progress with can help keep you accountable and motivated to move forward, whereas if there was no one there to check in with you, that might not happen.
Schedule Your Workouts
It’s easy to make your workouts much less of a priority than they need to be by telling yourself they’re not that important and that other things have to be done first. However, if you want to keep going and stay motivated, that’s not the way to work – instead, you need to make your workouts more important, and treat them like any other vital appointment that you just can’t miss. Schedule them into your calendar at the beginning of each week and always make sure you do what you need to do and don’t miss them, just like any other commitment you might have.
When you make your exercise time a non-negotiable part of your schedule, you’re less likely to skip it, even if you’re busy or you don’t feel very motivated – you wouldn’t miss any other kind of appointment if you felt that way, so why would you when it comes to time in the gym or working out at home with a fitness video online, for example?
Visualize Success
Another good idea is to visualize success when it comes to your workouts, so make sure you take some time each day to think about how it would feel when you achieve your fitness goals, and imagine how you’ll look and feel when you reach your targets and the level of fitness you’re working towards.
This visualization technique can help to boost your motivation because you’ll feel excited about reaching your goals and getting to the point where your imagination and real life meet – it’s something that’s going to keep you focused on what you’re working towards, and the more your reality and your imagined results get closer, the more motivated you’ll get on your fitness journey.
Reward Yourself
It’s also a good idea to set up a system of rewards to celebrate your progress and keep yourself motivated. So when you reach your next milestone, treat yourself to something special that will help you feel good about what you’ve achieved and that won’t undo any of your hard work (treating yourself to unhealthy food, for example, isn’t a great idea).
Some of the things that you could reward yourself with include a new workout outfit, a massage, or a healthy meal that you’ll really enjoy. When you have something to look forward to, you’ll be extra motivated to get to it.
